Earthquake Aid Nepal

My name is Riyang. I’m 35 years old. I was with my family in the field near my home, when the earthquake occurred on Saturday, April 25, 2015. Everyone was horrified. The earthquake transformed the village into chaos. The houses collapsed. The people in the village screamed and cried and went to look for their family members. My house was also completely destroyed by the quake. There was nothing iI could save from what was left of my former home.

Due to the unsafe situation, we decided to go to the top of the mountain. For more than a month I lived with my family in a stable. Only after the monsoon, when the problems with the leeches in the highlands increased where we were lodged, we returned to the village.

Now I live with my wife, my two twelve- and six-year-old daughters, as well as with our son, in the village of Mankha in the Sindhupalchwok district. My older daughter and my son go to the high school in the neighboring village, while my younger daughter attends the elementary school in the village. Both schools had been closed for nearly two months.

Subsistence farming and livestock farming are our main occupations. I lost all my five goats, the goat's barn collapsed during the earthquake. Two of the goats had been pregnant. If they had been born, I would have been able to sell them to make some money. Therefore, the death of the animals was also a huge financial loss for me.

When we returned from the top of the mountain to our village some time after the quake, there were only very few helpers on the ground. I think this is mainly due to the fact that this place, in contrast to the neighboring towns, is much more secluded. The path to the village, especially during the rainy season, is often blocked by rubble and mud.

Nevertheless, we received some tarpaulins, food rations, hygiene sets and also some financial support: The government paid 15,000 rupees for completely destroyed houses and 7,000 for partially destroyed houses.

Now PHASE-Nepal, the partner organization of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, is located in the village and has distributed corrugated iron. With the corrugated iron in my hand, I feel as if my confidence returned. I took confidence again. My most important goal is to build a new house.

For that matter, without your support,  Riyang might not have been able to build up his house again. It never ceases to amaze me that such a direct solution improves so much. Thank you for being an important part of the solution.

Yours

Michael Tuerk